Did you know that you are favored? “Charis” is a Hebrew word that means blessed, favored, graced……I was challenged yesterday to remember when I first realized that I am blessed, loved and favored by God. God is desirous of drawing us into a relationship in which He can bless us with His everlasting love. Our faith opens up the blessings that flow into our lives from God. We are blessed to be a blessing. We have been blessed because we are loved by God and we have the privilege to share what God has given to us.

My favor is not earned, it is a free gift that is available to all through belief. In the Old Testament, faith in the one true God, Yahweh, deemed a man as righteous, and in the New Testament it is faith is Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of all mankind. I must remember that my belief and faith is proven by my obedience.I show my trust in God by consistent obedience. Delayed obedience is actually disobedience. So my challenge is to show my true faith by trusting in God’s plan for my life in every situation, in every relationship, in every trial and especially when I am waiting. A life of faith is a process. We conquer one challenge only to find another opportunity to wait and trust right on the heals of the last one. My character is refined and strengthened as I wait on God and I must not panic when the process seems longer than I expect or harder than I feel equipped to handle.

Being favored does not exempt us from challenging times in our lives. Being favored equips us to be able to handle a time of drought or famine. Famine in the Old …

I like to fill my time with lots of activities to get us out of the house and tire out the kids. Although a busy schedule does yield fairly consistent naps and tired kids, it also leads to a tired mommy and little spare time to just enjoy each other.

Today I decided not to schedule anything and to just take it easy with the girls. We didn’t rush to breakfast – I let the girls play with each other for a while and we read books until they asked to eat. We didn’t rush to finish breakfast – We took our time and once they were done I let them watch a show while I actually cleaned up!! We had no time frame, so although we did go out to run one errand, I had time to treat them to a little snack after our shopping for their good behavior.

I’m not going to say that this was an easy day. Actually, it was pretty tough. Ellie did not nap at all and decided when I asked her to do things that she would reply, “No, I disobey.” It wasn’t pretty. However, I did really enjoy watching the girls interact with each other and had fun joining in their play time.

I still like my busy days and activities that get us out of the house, but I realized how important it is to balance the busy days and the slow days.

Every time I’m out with the girls someone has to come up and tell me this time when they are little goes by fast.

So let’s try and take the time together to really cherish our kids with no agenda and no schedule. (At least every once in a while!).

What are your favorite activities to do …

When my girls were little, spending time with their Grammies was a priority. Both Grammies lived near each other and over the years after my husband and I got married, they had become very close friends. The girls loved their visits. The Grammie visits were full of creative activities, discovering worlds of adventure while reading books and laughing a lot while playing make-believe. When it was time for them to leave, we would have to get our calendars out and schedule their next visit. For the first 15 years of our marriage, our family lived far away from the Grammies and now we are privileged to only live an hour away. One of the Grammies had a tradition she started with the girls when they were little. As she hugged them good-bye, she would tell them to keep her in their pocket. “Put me in your pocket”, she would say as she gave them their final hug. This way she would stay close to their heart. It was her way of showing them how much she loved them and it gave them security to know that they were precious to her. She has started a legacy of love that is being passed down to her great grandchildren and is being shared with her grand sons-in-law.

Being a Gammie (my grandkids’ name for me) is one of the greatest privileges of my life. I am grateful for every opportunity I have to spend time with each one of my grandchildren. I dream of the day that I can live close enough to the grandkids to be able to have them over to my house on a regular basis, but for now I am content to enjoy my visits to see them at their homes in southern California.

Last weekend, I went …

This past weekend my sister invited me to attend her church’s annual women’s retreat. It was a wonderful weekend of encouragement and fellowship. If you have never been on a women’s retreat before I highly recommend it!

I wanted to share a few of my favorite tidbits of encouragement from the speaker, Margaret Ashmore.

The main idea of the weekend was that the joy of our salvation should be on our hearts every day. Margaret said, “the more I have of Jesus on the inside, the less I need on the outside.” We are driven by so many needs: the need for acceptance, unconditional love, and security. Nothing in this world can satisfy these needs, only God can meet our needs!

C.S. Lewis once said, “To what will you look for help if you will not look to that which is stronger than yourself?” We must let our needs drive us to God because only he can satisfy the desires of our heart.

The only way to have more of Jesus on the inside is to spend time with him through prayer, devotions, and quiet times of waiting and listening for his voice. This is the main point I took away from the weekend. I have made a new goal to start every day with Jesus so that no matter what I encounter, I know that he is with me guiding my steps.

I hope that you feel encouraged by these tidbits. I would also challenge you to make time every day for Jesus. Start there. Make the time for him and he will find you!

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